The government is to invest €77m in seven major climate change projects via its new Climate Action Fund, kick-starting a total investment of €300m in round one of the scheme.
Electric car drivers, frustrated by the existing inadequate charging network, will be pleased that a major beneficiary is ESB eCars, which is to receive up to €10m to develop a nationwide, electric vehicle charging network.
Nearly 100 applications were received for the first round of projects. The other six projects approved by minister Richard Bruton (pictured) are:
Gas Networks Ireland: GRAZE Gas — Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions
Up to €8.5m is being provided to support the installation of the first transmission connected Central Grid Injection (CGI) facility for renewable gas and a grant scheme to support circa 74 compressed natural gas vehicles.
Irish Rail: Hybrid Drive for Inter City Railcar fleet
Up to €15m is being invested to design new hybrid power-packs for intercity railcars to reduce diesel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Following the proof of concept in one three car train, the hybrid power-packs will be implemented across the wider fleet.
In Association with
Dublin City Council: Dublin District Heating System
Up to €20m is being invested to capture waste heat generated at industrial facilities, in particular, the Dublin Waste to Energy Plant in Ringsend and piping it into homes and businesses in the Poolbeg, Ringsend and Docklands areas of Dublin city.
South Dublin County Council: The South Dublin County Council Tallaght District Heating Scheme
Up to €4.5m is being provided to establish a sustainable district heating solution in the Tallaght area to provide low carbon heat to public sector, residential and commercial customers.
Road Management Office: Local Authority Public Lighting Energy Efficiency Project
Up to €17.5m will be invested to retrofit all remaining 326,000 non‐LED local authority public lights to high efficiency LED lanterns. Public lighting accounts for approximately 50% of total energy use and the project could deliver emission reductions exceeding 40,000 tonnes of CO2 from electricity generation per annum.
Three Counties Energy Agency: Driving HGV Efficiently into Brexit
Up to €1.4m will be provided to to support the transport sector in reducing reduce fuel consumption and emissions from vehicles. Over a two-year period, telematic equipment will be installed in over 1,000 vehicles and appropriate training for the drivers will be provided. Through continuous monitoring and positive reinforcement of driving behaviour performance, the overall fuel efficiency is expected to increase by 10%.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “Project Ireland 2040 provides for an unprecedented investment of €22 billion in climate action over the next decade, the largest single package within the plan. We are working to take peat and coal off the grid by the middle of the next decade and to have 500,000 electric vehicles on our roads by 2030. From next July, no new diesel-only buses will be bought by Dublin Bus and from 2030, no new diesel or petrol cars will be sold in Ireland.
“We want the Climate Action Fund to empower communities, industry, researchers, the public sector, and citizens to take ownership of climate action efforts. The projects being announced today have the potential to make a real difference in the area of climate action and, most importantly, they will hit the ground running.”
